BlockQuitaque, Texas
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Quitaque census division. It lies in ZIP code area 79255. The Survey maps it on the Quitaque quadrangle. 342 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,572 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresQuitaque fell from 411 to 342 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 411 | |
| 2020 | 342 | -69 (-17%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 7 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1954 USGS Plainview quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Plainview quadrangle1:250000
- 1967 USGS Quitaque quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Plainview quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
20 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 20 fires within 5 miles of Quitaque between 2006 and 2020, burning about 2,992 acres in total. 3 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6 |
| Debris and open burning | 4 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2015 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | HENSON |
| 16 August 2020 | Natural | 500 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | 20026 |
| 16 August 2020 | Natural | 200 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | 20027 |
| 16 August 2019 | Recreation and ceremony | 36 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | MEAT SMOKER |
| 27 July 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | VALLEY SCHOOL |
| 30 June 2017 | Debris and open burning | 25 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | JOHN EARL PIGG |
| 18 June 2011 | Natural | 30 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | H. P. LAKE & LANE |
| 8 April 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | 2ND & MCBRIDE |
Storms near this place
60 of 90 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Quitaque in 90 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 50 hail, 26 thunderstorm wind, 8 tornado, 4 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2007 | Tornado (EF2) | Quitaque | $125,000 | Many storm chasers observed a large multiple vortex tornado that developed north of Quitaque shortly after 17:30 CST. The tornado initially touched down immediately north of Texas Highway 256, and tracked northeastward across the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. The tornado cut a twelve mile long path through the mesquite thickets of eastern Briscoe County, however, it continued across northwestern Hall County and into extreme southern Donley County before ending at 17:09 CST. The total path length was nearly twenty miles in length. |Despite the rural nature of the area, a few structures sustained significant damage. A trailer house was destroyed about five miles south of the river. The trailer was vacant when the tornado struck, but frequently served to house deer hunters. A single-story residence also was impacted by the tornado near Antelope Flat. The roof was totally blown off of the home. A forty by twenty-four foot barn used to store all-terrain vehicles also was destroyed at the homestead. At least two wind mills were additionally destroyed. The destruction of the trailer house, the complete loss of the roof to the home, and the destruction of the large barn all support an EF2 rating. No injuries were reported. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Quitaque | $100,000 | The public and local fire department officials reported that predominately golfball size hail was mixed with intermittent hail stones as large as softballs in Quitaque. The hail reportedly combined with damaging thunderstorm winds to knock out many windows in Quitaque. Combined damages from wind and hail were estimated to approach $200,000. No injuries were reported. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Quitaque | $50,000 | Numerous reports of large hail were received from the Quitaque and Caprock Canyons State Park areas of Briscoe County shortly after 15:00 CST. Initial reports indicated that golfball size hail, and occasionally larger hail stones, combined with damaging thunderstorm winds to knock out many windows in Quitaque. Combined damages from wind and hail were estimated to approach $200,000. No injuries were reported. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | $50,000 | Numerous reports of wind-blown hail were received from the Quitaque vicinity. Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated near 60 mph blew golfball to softball size hail through many windows in the town. Combined damages from wind and hail were estimated to approach $200,000. No injuries were reported. |
| May 2001 | Tornado (F1) | Quitaque | $20,000 | Amateur radio storm spotters reported a tornado northeast of town. The tornado damaged a house, uprooted trees, and destroyed a barn. |
| July 1995 | Hail | Quitaque | $20,000 | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | $10,000 | An emergency manager reported wind damage just west of Quitaque with wind gusts estimated to 70 mph. Along with area roofs being damaged, some mobile homes were shifted from their foundation and tree limbs up to eight inches in diameter were snapped. In Quitaque, winds of similar magnitude removed the top of the town's old water tower. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Quitaque | $10,000 | A local broadcast media storm chaser encountered baseball size hail near the intersection of Texas Highway 70 and Farm to Market Road 256 just before 20:15 CST. The storm chaser additionally observed a finger-shaped funnel cloud which developed within a pronounced wall cloud south of that intersection, but observations of the funnel were reportedly limited due to vehicle damages sustained by the ongoing hail. |
| May 2013 | Tornado (EF0) | Quitaque | $5,000 | The first of two landspout tornadoes this afternoon developed just west of Valley Schools in far southeast Briscoe County and moved slowly eastward causing EF-0 damage to a barn. This tornado later passed within 1/4 mile of the Valley Schools' football field and was photographed and videoed by some members of the school faculty. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | $5,000 | no account filed |
| September 2012 | Flash Flood | Quitaque | $2,000 | A NWS storm survey confirmed road damage from flash flooding along a bridge in Caprock Canyons State Park. The damage occurred about 2.5 miles north of the park's main entrance where a normally dry creek bed to Lake Theo swelled with several feet of water and inundated a bridge. Although small portions of the asphalt road along the bridge were washed out, the integrity of the bridge was not compromised. A substantial amount of debris (including large tree limbs and branches) accompanied the fast-moving floodwaters after nearly 1.5 inches of rain fell in 30 minutes. |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | $2,000 | Strong thunderstorm winds snapped power poles and blew down large tree limbs and power lines. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | $2,000 | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | $1,000 | no account filed |
| April 2016 | Hail | Quitaque | $500 | Multiple reports were received of hail up to the size of golf balls from Quitaque to Caprock Canyons State Park. The Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet station at the state park sustained minor hail damage. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | $500 | Severe winds, accompanied by small hail, damaged tents at Caprock Canyon State Park. In addition, an automated weather station operated by a local television station recorded a severe thunderstorm wind gust of 61 MPH in Quitaque. No injuries were reported. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | Local broadcast media relayed a report of a roof blown off of a house in the town of Quitaque. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Quitaque | - | The volunteer fire department in Quitaque and officials with Caprock Canyons State Park reported hail up to 3.50 inches in diameter in Quitaque. No damage was reported. |
| March 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | Measured by a Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site at Caprock Canyons State Park measured a peak wind gust to 61 mph. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site in Caprock Canyons State Park measured a wind gust to 61 mph. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site in Caprock Canyons State Park measured a wind gust to 59 mph. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site in Caprock Canyons State Park measured a wind gust to 60 mph. |
| September 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site in Caprock Canyons State Park measured a wind gust to 58 mph. |
| June 2017 | Hail | Quitaque | - | A storm chaser reported a swath of hail along State Highway 70 near the Briscoe/Hall County line. |
| April 2017 | Debris Flow | Quitaque | - | A rock slide occurred along State Highway 256 near County Road 27 following very heavy rainfall. This made the road impassable for an unknown amount of time. |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site in Caprock Canyons State Park measured a wind gust to 62 mph. |
| June 2016 | Hail | Quitaque | - | A storm chaser reported baseball size hail. No damage was reported. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | Measured by a Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet station. |
| September 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | Measured by the Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet station. |
| April 2013 | Hail | Quitaque | - | A storm chaser observed hen egg size hail between Silverton and Quitaque. No damage was reported. |
| June 2013 | Heavy Rain | Quitaque | - | A cooperative weather observer measured 4.02 inches of rain. The duration of rainfall was estimated from radar and West Texas Mesonet data. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | Fire rescue officials reported a large tree uprooted between Quitaque and Turkey. |
| April 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | A 59 mph gust was measured by a Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet station located at Caprock Canyons State Park. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | A Texas Tech University West Texas mesonet site at Caprock Canyons State Park measured a wind gust to 60 mph. |
| June 2012 | Hail | Quitaque | - | Ping-pong ball size hail fell for about two minutes along Texas Highway 256 in far eastern Briscoe County. Thereafter, copious amounts of pea size hail fell for several minutes and covered the roadway until heavy rains washed much of the hail into nearby bar ditches. No damage was observed. |
| June 2012 | Flash Flood | Quitaque | - | Heavy rains from a slow-moving severe thunderstorm created several swift-moving mud flows in open ranch land along Texas Highway 256 in far eastern Briscoe County. No property damage such as washed-out fences or side roads was observed. |
| September 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | Law enforcement officials reported small hail accompanied by thunderstorm winds estimated in excess of 60 mph along Farm to Market Road 256 east of Silverton at 15:39 CST. The report was confirmed at 15:40 CST when the Texas Tech University West Texas Mesonet site located near Texas Highway 86 between Silverton and Quitaque recorded a 62 mph gust. No damage was reported. |
| April 2009 | Hail | Quitaque | - | Local law enforcement officials reported baseball size hail along Texas Highway 256 south of the Antelope Flat community. This giant hail was produced by the cyclonic right-moving member of a supercell storm split. |
| April 2009 | Hail | Quitaque | - | Fire department officials reported golfball size hail along Texas Highway 86 east of Quitaque. |
| May 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | The public reported that severe thunderstorm winds broke a number of large tree limbs along U.S. Highway 83 just east of Quitaque. The event time is estimated. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Quitaque | - | The broadcast media relayed reports of tennis ball size hail in Caprock Canyons State Park. No damage was reported. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Quitaque | - | Scattered thunderstorms produced an intermittent swath of large hail over southern Briscoe County during the afternoon hours of the 14th. At 15:40 CST, quarter size hail was reported near Caprock Canyons State Park. Golfball size hail was additionally reported near Silverton just before 16:00 CST. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Quitaque | - | Half dollar size hail was reported by the public near Farm to Market Road 256 in northeastern Briscoe County. |
| June 2008 | Tornado (EF0) | Quitaque | - | The Turkey Fire Department observed a brief tornado near the Briscoe and Hall County line. The tornado remained in open country west of Texas Highway 70, and south of Farm to Market Road 256. No damage was reported. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Quitaque | - | Multiple reports of quarter to golf ball size hail were received from Quitaque and areas near the Valley ISD campus along Texas Highway 86 east of Quitaque. No damage was reported. |
| April 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | Local officials reported that severe thunderstorm winds downed large tree limbs just east of Quitaque. |
| June 2004 | Hail | Quitaque | - | Hundreds of acres of cotton were destroyed. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | Strong thunderstorm wind gusts snapped large limbs in Quitaque. |
| April 2003 | Tornado (F0) | Quitaque | - | A tornado was reported over open country. An NWS storm survey was not conducted as the tornado caused no damage. |
| June 2001 | Tornado (F0) | Quitaque | - | Storm spotters reported a (landspout) tornado in open country east-northeast of town. The tornado was nearly stationary. |
| June 2001 | Hail | Quitaque | - | Fire department storm spotters reported golfball size hail. |
| June 2001 | Hail | Quitaque | - | Storm spotters reported golfball size hail. |
| June 2001 | Hail | Quitaque | - | Storm spotters reported golfball size hail. |
| April 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Quitaque | - | Strong wind blew down large tree limbs. |
| May 1995 | Hail | Quitaque | - | Late afternoon thunderstorms produced dime- to quarter-size hail. |
| May 1995 | Hail | Quitaque | - | Late afternoon thunderstorms produced dime- to quarter-size hail. |
| May 1995 | Hail | Quitaque | - | Early morning rains in Swisher county put three to four feet of water over Interstate 25 south of Tulia forcing closure for a couple of hours. Some minor damage occurred to stalled vehicles. Baseball-size hail did about $200,000 damage to roofs and autos in Turkey. Sheriff's offices, fire departments, TV storm spotters, and Skywarn spotters relayed the information to the weather office. |
| May 2006 | Hail | Quitaque | - | no account filed |
| April 2005 | Hail | Quitaque | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitney | 14.5 miles | 7 | |
| Silverton | 15.1 miles | 7 | |
| Antelope Flats | 17.0 miles | 9 | |
| Rock Creek | 21.1 miles | 7 | |
| Woodburn Place | 24.6 miles | 9 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Quitaque | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q982009 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1365910. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.